


Merry Go' Round

by TheInsaneFox



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Horse farm AU, Horse trainer Keith, I promise this fic will earn its rating eventually, Kosmo is a Malamute, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Small Towns, Some very light angst but nothing too bad here, This may be a horse au, background lotura, but nobody will lose the farm, horse newbie shiro won't tame the wild mustang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2019-11-07 19:43:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17966828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheInsaneFox/pseuds/TheInsaneFox
Summary: “Keith, you’re being stubborn,” She said, the exhaustion evident in her voice.“We’ve been managing fine since dad passed,” He shot back, not wanting to meet his mother’s eyes because he knew there’d be only frustration and disappointment in them.Krolia let out a long sigh at that. “That’s bullshit, kid, and you know it.”Keith said nothing, jaw set in that stubborn way he’d gotten from her.“Just...talk to Allura, please. She has a friend looking for work and I think he’d be a good fit.”“Fine. I’ll hear her out.” Keith relented, but let his tone convey how much he was still against the idea.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> This is entirely self-indulgent garbage I've been wanting to write for _ages_ and I'm finally posting it.
> 
> Anyone who follows me on social media knows I'm an avid horseback rider and have my own horse, and I've been toying with the idea of some kind of Voltron horse AU for almost a year now.
> 
> Still working out the details of where I want this fic to go, but I'm getting there.
> 
> Also, I promise this fic will earn its rating in later chapters!
> 
> Title was taken from Kacey Musgraves' song of the same title, which will make more sense down the road.

Keith’s first memory was around the age of three when his dad took him out to the barn to show him the horses. He remembered being instantly infatuated with their kind eyes, soft muzzles, and the flick of their inquiring ears. His dad had lifted him up in his arms and let Keith reach out to pet one of them on the nose.

 

“You like them, Keith?” he’d asked, and Keith nodded enthusiastically.

 

His dad laughed at that. “Good. They’re our family business. Someday, if you want it, this whole farm will be yours.”

 

Keith stared at his dad, eyes wide and grinning from ear to ear. “Yeah! I want that!”

 

“Well, in that case, I think it’s time you get your first pony.”

 

Keith squealed with excitement in the way only little kids could. He wriggled out of his dad’s arms, nearly falling on the ground, and took off running towards the paddocks behind the barn. Sure enough, there was a little pinto pony waiting for him in one of the dirt lots. His name was Rocket, and he was the final part of the night that cemented Keith’s love for horses throughout the years.

 

By the time Keith was twenty-two years old, Rocket was one of the few things he had left from his father. The little pony was, of course, retired then, living out his days tormenting the bigger horses in the fields. Although he was no longer ridable, Keith would always love the little turd of a pony and vowed that he’d always have a home on their farm. Now Keith had his mare, Red, that he was working up through the levels of eventing in Rocket’s stead.

 

He stood at the fence one summer evening, watching the herd of horses grazing while the sunset in a picturesque scene behind them. His mom stood beside him, a comforting hand on Keith’s shoulder. Her purple hair stood out sharply in the late afternoon sunlight, and Keith wondered for the hundredth time why she insisted on dyeing her hair that color all the time.

 

“Keith, you’re being stubborn,” She said, the exhaustion evident in her voice.

 

“We’ve been managing fine since dad passed,” He shot back, not wanting to meet his mother’s eyes because he knew there’d be only frustration and disappointment in them.

 

Krolia let out a long sigh at that. “That’s bullshit, kid, and you know it.”

 

Keith said nothing, jaw set in that stubborn way he’d gotten from her. Rocket chose that moment to bite one of the bigger horses on the ass and ran away before the bay gelding could retaliate. The little pony had been a shit when Keith was learning to ride, but it made him all the better horseman for it.

 

He saw his mother turn to leave out of the corner of his eye, but she stopped before walking away to say, “Just...talk to Allura, please. She has a friend looking for work and I think he’d be a good fit.”

 

“Fine. I’ll hear her out.” Keith relented, but let his tone convey how much he was still against the idea. 

 

He waited until he heard the back door of the house slam shut before walking to the garage to get his motorcycle. He swung his leg over the red Ducati and revved the throttle before heading off towards town.

 

* * *

  
  


Keith parked his bike in front of one of the singular restaurant in his tiny hometown Altea Diner. Other than the usual gas station and post office, the town had nowhere else to hang out after six in the evening, so Altea was the closest they had to a local hangout. Often Keith found himself dreaming of escaping this town and moving to a large city, or maybe joining the army, anything to get him out of Garrison and making a difference in the world.

 

But his mom wouldn’t be able to handle any more loss now that it was just the two of them. And he had no idea what he would do without the horses in his life.

 

He killed the engine and walked in, waving at his friend Hunk behind the bar counter and taking a seat in an empty corner booth.

 

Almost immediately, a small waitress walked up to Keith’s table. Instead of taking an order though, she slammed a glass of water down in front of him and then took a seat on the other side of the booth. 

 

He raised an eyebrow before picking up a menu and pretending to look it over. “You could use some work on your service skills, Pidge.”

 

She shrugged, resting her cheek in the palm of her hand. “It’s slow tonight. Why are you even here?”

 

“I was hoping Allura would be in,” Keith replied as he placed the menu back on the table.

 

Pidge fixed him with a look. “We have cell phones. You could text her to see where she’s at.”

 

It was Keith’s turn to shrug. “I wanted out of the house anyway.”

 

Pidge hummed at that but dropped the subject. It was one of many things Keith loved about her as his best friend—she knew when to push him and when not to. Anything to do with his dad was currently part of the latter. “She’s in the office, I’ll go grab her for you.”

 

“Thanks. Can I order though?”

 

“No. That’s Lance’s job,” Pidge walked away before Keith could argue.

 

Keith grumbled but sat back in the booth and sipped sullenly at his water. 

 

A few minutes later, Allura walked out of the back and smiled when she found Keith. She came over and sat down in the seat Pidge had occupied before, her eyebrow raised in question at Keith’s water.

 

“Pidge said Lance has my table,” he grunted by way of explanation.

 

Allura rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder to yell for Lance. Keith saw Lance’s head of brown hair stick out from the kitchen door with a confused expression until his eyes landed on Keith and Allura. Keith actually saw him mouth “shit” before rushing out to the table, pen and paper in hand.

 

“So do I need to go through the whole ‘I’m Lance and I’ll be your waiter’ spiel or—?”

 

Keith handed him back the menu. “Just shut up and bring me the usual.”

 

“A please would be nice.” Lance took the menu anyway and walked back to the kitchen again. Keith flipped off his retreating back and Allura reached across the table to smack him on the side of the head. 

 

He knew he deserved that but didn’t actually care.

 

When Allura was sitting back in her seat, she finally asked Keith, “So to what do I owe the pleasure?”

 

“Mom thinks we need to hire someone for the farm.” 

 

“Oh?”

 

Keith rolled his eyes. Allura damn well knew what he was going to ask but she was going to make him say it anyway.  
  
  
“I don’t think we do, but she said you have a friend looking for work?”

 

Allura beamed when he asked. “Yes, I do! I’d offer him a job here at the diner but I don’t think this kind of work would suit him. He just got out of the military, and ah—to be honest, he was badly injured and has some PTSD from it. He’s a wonderful person and hard worker, so I think being on the farm with the horses would really be beneficial for him.”

 

“Does he know anything about horses?” Keith asked because that seemed like a pretty relevant detail Allura had omitted.

 

In response, she shifted in her seat and seemed to be searching for the right words. Keith already knew what the answer was before she even said it, “No. But he’s a fast learner. I brought him out one time to meet Juniberry and she was very fond of him.”

 

Keith had to wonder where he had been for that. Allura kept her gray mare, Juniberry, at his farm, so he must have been away at a show that day since he had no memory of her ever bringing anyone other than Lance to the farm.

 

Not to mention all the guy had to do was give Juniberry a few treats and that horse would instantly be his best friend. 

 

With a resigned sigh, Keith knew he could trust Allura. She’d never steered him wrong in all the years they’d been friends so he finally asked, “What’s his name?”   
  
Allura’s face lit up, knowing she had Keith where she wanted him. “His name is Shiro.”

 

“Alright, give him my number and tell him to give me a call. I’ll set up a time to interview him.”

 

The excited squeal that came from Allura’s mouth was not human, Keith was convinced. But she jumped across the ugly Formica table to throw her arms around him and repeat “Thank you, thank you!” over and over again until he was pushing her away and laughing at her antics.

 

Lance finally reappeared with a cheeseburger and fries and plopped the plate down in front of Keith without fanfare. He also put down a chocolate milkshake Keith did not order, and when he shot Lance a questioning look, he smiled and said “compliments of the chef.”

 

“Hunk! Damn it, stop giving me free shit!” Keith yelled over his shoulder.

 

“Nope, no can do, buddy!” Hunk called back from the kitchen.

 

“Both of you shut up,” Allura groaned.

 

Thankfully the diner was completely empty other than their little group, so they continued to volley playful insults at each other until it was time to close. At that point, Allura shooed Keith out so her employees could close up without further distraction, but she promised that her friend would be calling him the next day.

 

His ride home was mostly spent mulling over his options. By the time he pulled back into the driveway, he figured he had nothing to lose just from talking to this Shiro guy. He really hadn’t been able to focus on training the horses lately because he’d been so busy doing general farm work. 

 

He decided that he didn’t have to share that bit of information with his mother just yet, though. 

 

* * *

  
  


Red was having a day where she was tossing her head at every slight notion of contact and swishing her tail irritably when he asked her to move off his leg, so the ride went much longer than he had initially planned. By the time he got off her, she was soaked in sweat, with ears pinned when he went to wipe her down. He kept muttering under his breath about what a brat she was, but in all honesty, her bitchy personality was part of why he loved her so much. (Or so he told himself as she reached around and bit him as he brushed her back)

 

He’d even forgotten that he was waiting for Shiro to call him, so he panicked when he heard the voicemail and hit “call back” before he could even think through any of the questions he wanted to ask this guy.

 

“Takashi Shirogane speaking,” came the answer from the other end.

 

_ Shit _ . Keith internally panicked.  _ Stay calm and ask some normal sounding questions. _

 

“Uh, hi. This is Keith, from Marmora Stables. Allura said you were looking for work?”

 

“Yeah!” Shiro’s voice was radiating excitement, even through the phone speakers.

 

“Great. First things first, do you have any experience around horses?”

 

The silence that came from the other end was all the answer Keith needed, but he gave Shiro the chance to answer. Sure enough, Shiro’s tentative response came, “Uh, no. Honestly, I don’t. I’ve only ever seen Allura’s horse maybe once.”

 

Keith sighed but decided that wasn’t the end of the world. They mostly needed handy work done around the property and general farm maintenance more than the actual care of the horses. “That’s not a huge deal.” and explained what he was looking for help-wise.

 

After running through a few more questions, Keith decided Shiro seemed like he was worth giving a trial run, at least. They agreed that Shiro would come out the next day and Keith would show him around, give him a quick breakdown on what he expected Shiro to do, and overall see how it worked out.

 

Unfortunately for Keith, he was woefully unprepared for just how attractive Shiro was. 

 

When Shiro first pulled up to the farm in his beat up, black Chevy truck, Keith suddenly couldn’t remember how to breathe. The man who got out of the truck was tall, extremely well muscled, and wearing nothing more than tight jeans and a black tank top. Sweat was shining off his broad shoulders in the summer heat, and he had white hair, although he couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Keith. His right arm was replaced by a very high-tech looking prosthetic, probably courtesy of the military, and he had a red scar over the bridge of his nose. It only made him look that much more rugged and attractive.

 

Shiro spotted Keith standing over next to the ring, and the smile he flashed Keith was so incredible he just knew he was done for. It didn’t matter if Shiro was qualified or not, Keith was going to give him the job.

 

“Keith?” Shiro asked tentatively.

 

“Yeah. Shiro?”

 

Shiro grinned and stuck out his prosthetic hand. “Yup! Nice to meet you.” 

 

Keith nodded and stared dumbly at Shiro’s hand before remembering to take it in his own and shake.

 

Krolia walked out of the barn just then and didn’t even try to hide the eye roll when she saw the two of them. She made her way over and gave Keith a sharp nudge to the ribs before saying, “My idiot son says ‘nice to meet you too’. And I’m Krolia.”

 

Keith snapped back to attention and took the offered hand in a firm shake. “Yeah, glad to have you here.”

 

Krolia took over and began the tour, knowing damn well Keith wasn’t going to be able to focus for anything. She showed Shiro the pastures, the ring, and the barn, the workshop where he’d be spending most of his time, and finally introduced him to the horses. Shiro nodded as she explained everything and asked polite questions, and by the end of the tour, Keith was pretty sure he knew Krolia wanted to hire him too.

 

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone to go over the final details. Keith, offer Shiro the paperwork and answer any other questions he might have.”  
  
  
And just like that, Keith was alone with Shiro. Krolia had a knack for disappearing without a trace when she wanted to.

 

Keith motioned for Shiro to follow him and they made their way to the small office at the end of the barn aisle. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a loud “woof!” as a large malamute ran out of the door and jumped on Keith, licking him while his tail wagged so fast it just looked like a blur.    
  
“Ugh, Kosmo, down!” Keith tried to sound stern but he was laughing and scratching the huge dog behind the ears.

 

“Who’s this?” Shiro chuckled and Kosmo looked at him as if just realizing there was a new person there. He pushed off of Keith’s chest and trotted over to the stranger, sniffing him cautiously before his tail began wagging again and he bumped his head to Shiro’s hand for a pet.

 

“This is Kosmo. It’s too hot outside for him today, so I was keeping him in the office with the air conditioning.” Keith whistled to the dog to return and gave him a pat on the head as the three of them entered the office and closed the door behind them.

 

Keith began shuffling around for the paperwork he needed to offer Shiro for the job, and while he did that Shiro stood off to the side of the desk.

 

“So uhh—do you ride regularly?” Shiro asked, looking sheepish.

 

_ God what a stupid question to ask a horse trainer _ . Keith tried to fight the eye roll he felt building. “Yeah. Mom oversees the breeding operations, but I’m the one who breaks and trains all of our horses. I have a couple of my own personal horses, but we teach a lot of lessons too. Some local kids also help out with the feeding and stalls during the week. You might meet Romelle today, she usually does chores on Tuesdays and Fridays after school.”

 

Shiro nodded. “What kind of riding do you do here?”

 

Keith quirked an eyebrow at him at that question, as if Shiro would even understand the different disciplines of riding. “We specialize in retraining thoroughbreds here. Most of them retire from their racing careers at around four or five years old and have nowhere to go. They’re a crazy athletic and versatile breed, and we want to show people that they have so much more to give after their racing days are over.”

 

He could already tell Shiro was totally lost, so he tried to find some familiar ground to explain it. “Allura said she’s brought you out here before?”

 

“Oh! Yeah. She showed me her horse. Her name is Juniberry, right?”

 

“Yeah. Allura does dressage. Not sure how much she’s explained it to you.”

 

From the look on Shiro’s face, he was guessing none.  
  
  
“Well, it doesn’t matter. This is all stuff you’ll learn as you spend time here. The over-simplified explanation of dressage is that it’s like horse dancing, but I really hate using that description.”

 

He offered no more explanation beyond that and watched for Shiro’s reaction. His expression seemed neutral, if not a little bored, so Keith decided to drop it. There was nothing to gain by boring his newest employee to tears.

 

“Alright, well, so long as you agree to the pay and terms of the job, all you have to do is sign this agreement and you’re hired.” Keith handed the papers over to Shiro and waited for him to take them and look them over.

 

Once everything was signed and made official, Keith gave Shiro a wry smile. “Welcome to the Voltron Stables family.”

 

Shiro beamed, and Keith wasn’t sure it was possible for a human to smile as much as Shiro did. “Thanks! Excited to be here.”

 

Even Kosmo came over and pawed Shiro’s leg, begging for attention. Shiro laughed and leaned down to pet him. He seemed so at ease around the animals, Keith had a feeling it wouldn’t be too hard to teach him the basics of working around the horses.

 

“Well, Romelle will be getting here in a few minutes to start evening chores. I’m just going to give her a list of things I need her to do and then we’re all done here for the night.” 

 

Shiro nodded, still playing with Kosmo and not fully paying attention. Something about the ease with which Shiro interacted with the big dog lit a small spark in Keith’s chest. Keith had admittedly never been great with people, which was part of why he loved the horses so much. And to see Shiro playing with Kosmo like it was second nature made Keith think maybe he was making the right choice by hiring Shiro.

 

“So uh, how long have you known Allura?” Keith didn’t know why he suddenly asked the question, but a small piece in the back of his brain was nagging him to get to know Shiro a little better.

 

“Honestly? Since we were kids. My grandfather and her father were good friends so we’ve just always kind of known each other.”

 

Keith nodded, unsure of where to continue the conversation. Shiro took the abrupt halt in stride though and went back to playing tug-of-war with the rope toy Kosmo had produced from some dusty corner of the office.

 

Before he could second guess himself, Keith blurted out the next thing that came to mind. “A bunch of us are going to hang out at a friend’s house tonight if you want to come. Allura will be there.”

 

At that, Shiro looked up, confusion and excitement written all over his face. “Yeah, I’d love that. I have to admit, I haven’t been the most social since I moved back...it would be good for me to see some people my own age.”

 

Keith was somewhat surprised to hear that but reminded himself that this man had lost an arm and been in a war. Whatever traumas he had were none of Keith’s business, but at the same time, he felt compelled to help Shiro however he could.

 

Twenty minutes later found them at Hunk’s house, several cars already parked in the driveway. Keith and Shiro had ridden over separately as Shiro insisted he lived the next town over and didn’t want Keith to feel like he should have to drop him off if they drank too much. He saw Pidge and Lance’s cars there already, as well as a few he didn't recognize. 

 

Hunk lived in a small house on the edge of town, away from any nosy neighbors who would make a noise complaint on them. It was the best place for their friends to gather, as small-town politics would cause too much gossip otherwise. Allura’s father was the most successful real estate owner in town, so he had an obsession for keeping his reputation as close to flawless as possible, and Allura wanted nothing more than to make her father proud.

 

“Keith!” Hunk shouted by way of greeting when they entered the front door. “Who’s the friend?”  
  
  
“Shiro!” Allura cried from somewhere in the back of the room before running up to give him a fierce hug. 

 

Shiro laughed and returned the hug. Keith couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy he felt at their familiar closeness, how easy it was for them to hug and talk with such intimacy.

 

_ Jesus Christ, Kogane, where did that thought come from? _ Keith mentally scolded himself, shocked by his own thoughts.

 

Lance chose that moment to interrupt Keith’s train of thought, throwing an arm around Keith’s shoulder and offering him a can of Coors Light.  Keith made a face at the cheap beer but accepted it, popping the tab and taking a long pull, all while fighting his instinct to grimace at the nasty taste.

 

Once Shiro and Allura had disappeared into the kitchen, Lance nudged Keith. “Who’s the hottie you came with?”   
  


Keith rolled his eyes and shoved Lance off of him. “Allura’s friend Shiro that she was talking about the other night. I hired him today.”

 

“Oh ho-ho!” Lance had that smug look that usually made Keith want to punch him.    
  
“I swear to God, Lance if you make some awful sex joke I will end you.”

 

The conversation devolved from there, with Lance and Keith falling into the bickering that was typical of their friendship. Pidge would occasionally pop her head in to make a snide comment and rile them up again, but eventually, they found themselves in the backyard, still drinking cheap beer around a fire Allura had gotten started.

 

Shiro found his way over to them and took a seat in the empty lawn chair next to Keith. He gave Keith a sideways glance as he opened his own drink. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but Lotor, Allura’s rich asshole of a boyfriend, was making some speech or another to the group about local politics and why their town was trash. Nobody had actually been listening to him for quite some time. Keith really hated Lotor and made it a point to ignore the white-haired man as much as he could.

 

“Is this a normal Saturday night for you?” Shiro’s voice came from his right, starting Keith back into reality.  
  
  
Keith shrugged, throwing back more beer in a deep chug. “Sometimes. As you’ve noticed, this town is pretty small. We don’t have many other options without driving a few hours to the nearest city. And we all work nonstop so taking a weekend off to travel isn’t possible.”

 

Shiro hummed at that, a neutral sound that made Keith wonder if he’d said anything to offend him. It made Keith uncomfortable not knowing how to respond, so he just blurted out the first thought that popped into his head: “If you’re from around here, how come we’ve never met before?”

 

Shiro paused for a second but broke into a sheepish smile at the question. “Well, I was raised by my grandfather. He lives here but he insisted on sending me to private school when I was a kid. So I never really got to meet any of the local kids my age.”

 

“Oh,” Keith wasn’t sure what else to say. He was a little buzzed already but somehow the idea that they had lived so close by their whole lives and yet never met until this afternoon somehow left Keith empty and sad.

 

“It’s not so bad,” Shiro nudged him with his shoulder. “Don’t look so sad for me. I actually went to school with Pidge’s brother. He’s been one of my best friends since second grade.”

 

“No shit, you know Matt?” 

 

Shiro smiled and looked like he was about to say something, but Pidge yelled from the other side of the fire pit, “Yeah, and you two would gang up on me  _ all the time _ . Don’t fall for his good looks and charming smile, Keith. This asshole once told me he and Matt made me a cake, but it was just a cardboard box they frosted.”

 

“Hey, that was prank war  _ gold _ !” Shiro shot back.

 

“IT WAS TRAUMATIC!” Pidge lobbed her empty beer can at Shiro. “This is why I have trust issues.”

 

Shiro pouted and despite what Pidge was yelling, Keith found it adorable.

 

_ God, keep it together, Keith. He’s your employee now… _

 

At that point, Allura let out a huge yawn. It was nearing 3 AM and everyone was slowing down. Keith especially was kicking himself for staying up so late because it didn’t matter how hungover he was, the horses still needed to be fed and their stalls cleaned at 7 every morning.

 

“Alright, I think that’s our cue. Everybody go home now,” Hunk’s voice was firm but still good-natured. Nobody was about to argue, anyway.

 

As everyone else got into their cars and drove off, Keith lingered back for a few extra minutes. Shiro met his eyes and nodded his understanding that Keith wanted him to stay behind, so he stood off to the corner and continued to chat idly with Keith until they were alone in Hunk’s driveway.

 

“Thanks for inviting me out tonight.” Shiro was shifting his weight from foot to foot, nervous energy radiating from him in a way that surprised Keith. “It was nice to spend time with people in my age group again.”

 

“Of course.” Keith smiled. “You should hang out with us more. Everyone really liked you.”

 

Shiro blushed at that but thanked Keith again. “Maybe I’ll see if Matt wants to come with us next time.”

 

“I’m sure he’d be glad for the invite. Pidge might be another story, but she’s a big girl, she’ll figure it out.”

 

They both chuckled at that, and Shiro held out his hand to Keith again. “Well, it was great meeting you tonight, Keith. I’ll see you on Monday?”

 

Keith grasped his hand and couldn’t help the grin on his face. “Yes. See you Monday.”

 

With that, Shiro got into his truck and drove off down the road, gravel flying and dirt kicking up in a cloud behind him.

 

It took Keith several minutes for his heart rate to go back down to normal. “Shit,” he groaned, rubbing his face with his hand. “This is bad.”

 

Shiro hadn’t even started working for him officially and Keith could already tell he was developing a massive crush on him. 

 

Nothing good was going to come of this.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh sorry it took so long for me to update this! I've had a lot of other stuff going on and honestly, I was fighting some pretty awful writer's block. I think I'm back though! (Also, I realize this is one of my least popular fics so ehhh, but it's super self-indulgent so here we are)

Monday arrived before Keith even realized the weekend was over. He was trudging out to the barn to do morning feeding, freshly brewed cup of coffee in hand and Kosmo trotting along beside him when he saw the old black truck in the driveway.

 

_ Oh right, Shiro is starting today.  _ Keith’s brain hadn’t quite reached the point of functioning yet as he was barely three sips into his coffee, but he tried to focus for Shiro’s sake as he needed to train him. But of course, all Keith had were some rusty gears attempting to churn away under his dark mullet, making some horrible noise while they struggled to get started.

  
He heard Kosmo bark then, and Keith looked up to find the large dog running excitedly towards Shiro. Part of Keith’s sleep-deprived brain was bitter because he felt like his dog already loved Shiro more than he loved him, but it was so rare to see Kosmo so excited about someone other than Keith or Krolia that he couldn’t help the small smile threatening to upturn the corners of his mouth.

 

“Morning, Keith!” Shiro beamed at him as he stood from making a huge fuss over Kosmo. The dog whined at the loss of attention and physical contact with the new human.

 

Keith bit back the groan he wanted to let out on instinct. He finally found a negative quality of Shiro’s.  _ He was a morning person. _

 

“Morning,” Keith grunted in response, wincing at the tone of his own voice. Okay, he may not be a morning person, but it wouldn’t kill him to be polite to his newest employee.

 

Shiro either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it, wordlessly following Keith down the barn aisle and into the office.

 

After a quick rundown of what he needed Shiro to do and an assurance to not be afraid to ask questions, Shiro gave him a mock salute and trotted off in the direction of the workshop.

 

Keith tried to ignore the sudden thump in his chest as he watched Shiro’s retreating back. He heard Kosmo let out a huge sigh, and when he looked over at his dog grumbled, “Stop judging me.”

 

It shouldn’t have surprised him when Kosmo gave a huge huff before turning tail and trotting into Keith’s office where he could nap in the air conditioning, undisturbed for the day while Keith did his thing.

 

A sleek white Mercedes pulled into the driveway as Keith was finishing some paperwork a couple of hours into his workday. Allura emerged from the driver’s side, already wearing breeches and tall boots. She offered Keith a wave as she walked out towards the paddock Juniberry was turned out in. It was about a half-hour before their weekly riding lesson together, so Keith continued to focus on some office duties until five minutes before their designated start time.

 

Allura and Juniberry were already warming up when Keith walked into the ring, although he tried not to cringe at the endless amount of neon pink Allura had decked her horse out in.

 

“You know that if you ever want to be taken seriously as a rider, you’ll have to lose the pink.” The words were out of Keith’s mouth before he’d even bothered to observe where horse and rider were at in their exercises. Not a shining moment for him as a trainer and professional.

 

Allura waved him off with the hand carrying her sparkly whip because of course, she would have one of those too. “Oh, lighten up. We’re just schooling. I wouldn’t wear this at a show.”

 

Keith grunted but dropped the subject. He was used to being surrounded by teenage girls who wanted their horses adorned in every sparkly and pink object they could find. But Allura was twenty-eight years old and should have known better. Or at least pretended to.

 

However, this was one of those ‘choose your battles’ moment and Keith knew the only way it would end would be with a rhinestone-encrusted dressage whip shoved so far up his ass that he’d be coughing up the plastic gems for days.

 

Shaking that image from his head, Keith put Allura to work and had her start warming up. He was talking her through how to get Juniberry to relax more and bend through her entire body when he heard a loud clatter coming from the far side of the ring. Juniberry flicked an ear in mild interest but otherwise remained focused on her job. Allura praised her with a pat on the neck and Keith decided it was time to move on to the next exercise.

 

By the time Allura had Juniberry cantering over a small jump on a circle, he heard another loud crash, followed by some cursing. He looked up just in time to see Shiro shaking his hand and biting back an obvious snarl of pain. But that wasn’t the part that Keith noticed.

 

What he noticed was that Shiro was very much shirtless. Logically, Keith knew it was because it was ninety-something degrees and the man was doing a lot of manual labor in the heat. But the logical part of Keith’s brain wasn’t the part that was thinking. It was, in fact, the lizard part of his brain that was focusing on the sight of a very attractive man without a shirt working in the hot summer sun.

 

And if Keith happened to see every drop of sweat as it rolled down that broad, muscled back, well, he was only human. And Shiro was, admittedly, one of the most attractive people he had ever laid eyes on.

 

“Shiro! Are you okay?” Allura called out, accepting the hand wave Shiro gave her with his uninjured hand while he glared at the pile of fencing materials as an affirmative answer. 

 

When she trotted Juniberry back over to where Keith was standing, she gave him a painfully smug look. “You’re drooling, Keith.”

 

Keith snapped his jaw shut with a clack of his teeth, not even realizing it was open. He rolled his eyes and told Allura to get back to work.

 

Even after Allura’s lesson had ended, Shiro was still working on the fence Keith had asked him to repair. He could tell Shiro was struggling a bit, so he walked over to ask if he needed any help.

 

Shiro startled at Keith’s voice, letting out a surprised yelp. On instinct, Keith reached out to try and steady Shiro with a hand on his shoulder. But he felt all of the muscles corded up, ready to spring into defense mode at any second, so Keith immediately dropped his hand and backed up to give Shiro some space.

 

“I’m so sorry!” Keith blurted out. “I didn’t mean to scare you!”

 

Something seemed to click in Shiro’s mind and he visibly relaxed once he realized it was just Keith, shoulders slumping in what could have been embarrassment or even just defeat. “No, it’s okay. I just don’t do well on people sneaking up on me. Memories from being in the army and all that.”

 

Keith leveled Shiro with a look. He knew there was much more to the story than that, but it wasn’t his place to pry so he let it drop, filing the information away for later.

 

“Well, I was coming over to see if you need any help with the fence…” Keith admittedly didn’t know where to go from there.

 

Shiro shook his head. “Nah, I can fix a fence. Grandpa taught me how to fix a house, a fence isn’t that complicated. I’m just clumsy and dropped a board on my hand earlier.”

 

Keith waited another second before nodding. He didn’t quite believe Shiro but decided to let it be for the moment. He could always revisit it at a later time. “Alright, well, just shout if you need anything.”

 

The rest of the day was spent doing odd chores Keith had put off over the weekend, but he kept an eye on Shiro the entire time. He seemed to be handling the tasks Keith assigned him just fine, but something about his behavior earlier left Keith wondering if he’d done something wrong. But the horses kept him busy and soon enough Keith forgot why he was ever worried in the first place.

 

Around three in the afternoon, Lance’s small blue sedan pulled into the driveway. Immediately, Keith felt the energy drain from his very essence. Lance showing up unannounced almost always led to a long night that Keith wasn’t sure he had the energy for at the moment.

 

“Keith!” Lance called out the second he stood from his car. “You home?”

 

Kosmo lifted his head and whined. Keith sighed and gave the dog a pat on the head before accepting his fate. He had barely opened the door to the office when Lance stormed in, mumbling in rapid Spanish of what Keith could only assume was a string of profanities.

 

“Uh, hi?” Keith offered. 

 

Lance threw his hands in the air and collapsed on the plaid sofa Keith had taken from his grandparents’ house after they passed. It was threadbare and hideous with more than a few loose springs sticking out and waiting to stab someone in the ass at any given second, but it did its job. Especially when one of the aforementioned loose springs stuck Lance when he sat down.

 

After a few minutes, Lance finally calmed down enough that when he spoke, Keith actually understood him. “She ditched me.”

 

“Who did?” Keith already knew the answer, but if he didn’t ask Lance would only drag it out.

 

“Allura!”

 

The effort that it took for Keith not to roll his eyes almost cost him a few precious moments of sanity. But he had to keep pushing forward with the conversation or Lance would never drop it. 

 

“Did she say why?” He knew he was going to regret asking.

 

“Of course. She made plans with Lotor instead. What else?” Lance didn’t even try to hide the bitter jealousy in his voice.

 

Keith shrugged while he tried to go back to finishing the paperwork he’d been working on when Lance so rudely interrupted. “They’re dating, what do you expect?”

 

“ _ But why _ ?” Lance was practically crying.

 

Keith paused at the tone of his friend’s voice. While he admitted that most days he wanted to throttle Lance, he really felt for him on the situation. Nobody knew what Allura saw in Lotor; she was the only person in their friend group who felt anything other than seething rage or overwhelming disgust whenever he came into the room.

 

But for whatever reason, she was with him. It was an unchangeable fact. And that meant more of Lance’s self-pity parties until something changed.

 

“Nobody knows,” Keith sighed and pushed back from his desk, knowing any attempt to get work done at that point was futile. “I love Allura but she’s an idiot for dating that asshole.”

 

Lance looked like he wanted to say something else, but a knock on the door interrupted them. Keith held up a hand, indicating they would return to the conversation in a minute, and opened the door to find Shiro standing awkwardly on the other side.

 

“Uh, hey, just wanted to let you know that I finished the list.” 

 

Keith blinked. Right. The list. Shiro working for him.  _ Damn it, why did he have to put his shirt back on? _   
  


“Oh! Great. Uh, I don’t really have anything else for you today so if you want to head out a little early that’s fine.” Keith finally remembered how to talk and form words.

 

Shiro nodded, his eyes flicking between Keith and Lance. He looked like he wanted to say something, but must have decided against it since he ended up giving Keith an awkward wave goodbye before returning to his truck and driving away.

 

He hadn’t even pulled out of the driveway before Lance elbowed Keith in the ribs and said, “Man, you’ve got it  _ bad _ .”

 

“Fuck off,” Keith shot back, although it lacked any real venom. He shoved Lance hard and left the office, waving for Lance and Kosmo to follow.

 

They went to the garage where Keith opened the fridge and offered Lance a beer.

 

Lance accepted the bottle without a word, twisting the top off while Keith emerged from the fridge with an identical bottle for himself. Properly equipped with alcohol, the two went outside and took a seat next to the small pond behind the house. It was covered in green scum from the summer heat and a few small fish would pop up to nab a bug from time to time, but Keith had always found the spot soothing. 

 

Lance sat beside him but seemed enthralled in picking the label of his beer off the bottle. 

 

“You should come back to riding sometime,” Keith broke the silence as he watched one of their barn cats stalk a frog in the slanting light of the late afternoon. “Medianoche misses you.”

 

Lance shrugged at that. “I don’t know. Riding just reminds me too much of Allura.”

 

Keith sighed, counting backward from ten. “Lance, lots of people ride. You were riding before you loved Allura. Giving up on it because of one person doesn’t seem logical.”   
  
“Lots of things are illogical.” Lance glared at him as he took a swig of his rapidly warming beer. 

 

“Okay, let me put it this way—quitting something you love because of one person not returning your feelings isn’t  _ right _ . You can come ride when Allura isn’t here. But Medianoche has been sitting in a field for months and I don’t have time to ride her and I really think it would make you happy to try riding again.”

 

Lance said nothing, his lips pressed together in a thin line. He turned his attention to the cat Keith had spotted a minute ago as it finally pounced and caught the frog. 

 

Keith was beginning to worry Lance was just ignoring him when he finally said, “I’ll think about it.”

 

“Okay.” It was a start, at least.

 

By the time Lance left, the sun had set and the moon was slowly creeping its way into the ink-black sky. Keith took a moment to look up at it before going inside the house, admiring the twinkle of the bright stars alongside the moon. The beer was buzzing pleasantly in his veins and couldn’t help but feel a bit sad when he remembered how much his dad had loved the stars.   
  
Once upon a time, Keith had loved the night; he had loved looking up at the sky and pointing out the constellations with his dad.

 

But now, the night only brought loneliness and the ghosts of memories he wasn’t ready to face just yet.

 

He decided to check on the horses one more time before going inside. After throwing them all some extra hay, he found Red and gave her a scratch on the neck. She pinned her ears in irritation at him and Keith just chuckled before giving her a final pat and walking back into the house.

 

Krolia was awake but working on something at her computer, so Keith told her he was going to bed. She wished him goodnight without even looking up from the screen.

 

Kosmo was already asleep in Keith’s bed and waiting for him. So after stripping down to just his boxers, Keith collapsed and fell into a deep sleep, his dog curled up beside him.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The rest of the week was a giant blur to Keith. He took care of the horses, he taught lessons, he showed Romelle how to lunge a horse properly and what the different pieces of equipment were for. 

 

For his part, Shiro learned quickly and by the end of his first week, more or less had a strong handle on his day to day responsibilities on the farm. He always showed up to work with a smile (despite Keith’s grumpiness in the mornings before he’d had his coffee), and somehow Keith found talking to him to be the easiest thing he had ever done. And Keith was horrible with people to a point where Pidge had told everybody in their elementary school class that he was born without a soul.

 

Keith was excited in the mornings, knowing he would get to see Shiro. It was weird because the only person he ever got that excited to see had been his dad. But whenever he saw Shiro smile, Keith’s heart faltered in the best way possible. 

 

Shiro was sitting outside eating his lunch when Keith found him that Friday. He was watching Romelle show her brother Bandor how to bathe the pony they shared, chuckling every time the pony would swish her tail and get the siblings covered in a new layer of soap and tepid water.

 

Shiro must have felt Keith’s stare because he didn’t have to say anything to get Shiro to look over his way. 

 

“Hey, Keith!” that damn grin was more contagious than a measles outbreak in an anti-vaxx community.

 

“Hey,” Keith replied before taking a seat next to Shiro in the grass. Neither of them spoke and instead let the silence be filled by the sounds of Romelle giggling and the occasional whine from Bandor.

 

It wasn’t until the Romelle and Bandor got into a screaming match while trying to wrestle the hose out of the other’s hands that Keith finally sighed and stepped in, telling the two of them to go do things on opposite ends of the farm. After some initial whining, Romelle stomped off to clean some stalls while he brother took the fat pony to graze on the sparse grass behind the barn.

 

“You’re good with them,” Shiro stated as if it were common knowledge.

 

“What? Romelle and Bandor?”

 

“Well, yeah. But I meant kids in general.”

 

Keith shrugged, unsure of what to say other than, “It’s part of the job. If I can’t teach kids the basics of riding, I have no business being a trainer.”

 

“Maybe so, but that still doesn’t change that you’re good at it.” Shiro raised an eyebrow as he took an obscenely large bite out of the sandwich he was eating.

 

“Okay.” Keith looked away and let the conversation lapse again after that while Shiro finished off his sandwich.

 

“Are you doing anything tonight?” Shiro suddenly asked.

 

Keith’s head snapped around so he could meet Shiro’s gaze. Shiro looked shy and hopeful all at once, and Keith felt his heart melt a little at the sight. 

  
“I was going to go to a show at Coran’s bar,” Keith replied without thinking. He didn’t know why he said that; he was just planning on drinking beer while watching Netflix until he passed out. But he wanted Shiro to think he was cool and not just some loser without a social life.

 

Shiro was silent for a beat, and Keith was worried that he’d somehow offended him. But before Keith could ruminate on it for too long, Shiro replied, “That’s too bad, I was going to ask you to hang out.” 

 

He couldn’t help but notice the clear sting of disappointment in Shiro’s face, and Keith suddenly wanted nothing more than to make that feeling go away for him.

 

“You could come with me,” Keith was responding before he’d even had time to think about what he was saying. 

 

Then again, the grin Shiro flashed at him was more than enough to make up for his moment of impulsiveness. And if he was being completely honest with himself, his traitorous heart even skipped a beat at the sight like the main character in a shojo manga.

 

“That would be awesome!”

 

Keith couldn’t help but wonder if he’d just gotten himself in trouble.

 

* * *

  
  


Shiro came back to the farm after they finished for the day, freshly showered and sporting a black leather jacket that showed off much more of his cut figure than was fair to the rest of the human race. Keith felt like a gremlin in comparison, wearing just a pair of black jeans and a ratty red t-shirt that had seen better days.

 

He gave Shiro an awkward wave in greeting, which Shiro returned enthusiastically. 

 

_ God, he’s such a dork. _ Keith caught himself thinking.

 

“Keith!” Shiro was grinning one of his trademark cheesy grins. 

 

Keith laughed in response. “You act like we didn’t see each other an hour ago.”

 

Shiro flushed at that and looked away sheepishly. “Yeah. Sorry. I told you I haven’t been good at socializing since getting home.”

 

“It’s fine. It’s honestly cute.” The words were out of Keith’s mouth before he realized what he said. 

 

Shiro either didn’t notice or was good at pretending he didn’t hear what Keith said, so Keith tried to act as if it had never happened. After some negotiations, they agreed Shiro would drive them out since Keith’s motorcycle wasn’t very comfortable for two people.

 

The bar was already packed by the time they pulled into the parking lot, a handful of people lingering outside and the music loud enough that they could feel the bass pumping from outside. 

 

Above the front entrance was a neon sign that simply said “Wimbletons”. The bouncer, a woman taller than even Shiro, with a shock of short purple hair and muscles that made it clear not to fuck with her, nodded at Keith as he walked in. He’d been a regular at the bar since before he was even legal to drink, so she never bothered to check his ID anymore. In fact, she barely gave a cursory glance at the card Shiro presented her and just waved them in.

 

The inside was every bit the dive that the exterior presumed it to be. Dark, grungy bar and tables, a beaten to hell pool table in one corner, and floors covered in a mystery sticky substance. It was disgusting, but it was home, so Keith did not even think about it until Shiro squawked indignantly when he realized his boot was very much stuck to the hardwood floor.

 

“Sorry. This place is gross but it’s become a popular music venue.” Keith couldn’t help but laugh at Shiro’s look of pure disgust.

 

“I trust you,” came Shiro’s response, but Keith didn’t miss the note of uncertainty in those words.

 

Keith nodded towards the bar and Shiro followed, carefully dodging a few stray elbows and spilled drinks along the way.

 

“Keith!” A middle-aged man with a comically large mustache crowed from behind the bar. “Long time no see, old friend!”

 

“Hey, Coran!” Keith returned the smile as he sat down at an open stool. 

 

Shiro took a seat next to Keith, silent and observing while Keith and Coran volleyed stories and friendly jabs at each other. After a few minutes of conversation, Coran plopped a couple of drinks down in front of them before rambling about needing to get back to work but that they were on the house.

 

“Friend of yours?” Shiro finally asked after Coran set back to helping other customers.   
  
“Yeah, Coran. He’s Allura’s...uncle? Godfather? Something like that. Basically, he’s part of their family and helps her father run his various businesses. This one is all him, though. The place is seedy as fuck but it’s successful.”

 

Shiro made an appreciative noise and held up his drink in a mock-toast before taking the first sip. He immediately gagged and Keith had to keep himself from laughing.

 

“What the fuck  _ is _ this?” Shiro gasped.

 

“Coran calls it nunvill. House specialty.” 

 

Shiro looked like he was going to be sick. “It’s terrible. It tastes like alcoholic hot dog water.”

 

Keith shrugged and choked down a sip of his own. “Oh, it’s fucking awful. But it will get you shit faced really fast.”

 

With a final look of disgust, Shiro put his drink back down on the bar. “I’m driving anyway so I’ll just have a beer.”

 

Keith finally let loose the laugh he’d been holding back and waved the bartender over. He let Shiro order his beer of choice and said he’d pay for it to make up for the nunvill.

 

They spent a bit of time just talking and laughing together, until about thirty minutes in when Shiro finally asked what the band was that they were here to see.

 

“Just some local group, but probably nobody you know. Their music is overwhelmingly average. But entertaining enough for a live show.”

  
  


At that point, the band came on and began testing their sound with a few chords. Once the lead singer announced their opening piece, Keith and Shiro mutually allowed the conversation to lull in favor of listening to the set.

 

True to Keith’s’ warning, the music was mediocre at best. But Keith hadn’t come to Coran’s for the music. He had never even planned on coming there that night, merely blurted it out when Shiro asked what he was up to because he realized he wanted to spend more time with Shiro, even after the workday ended.

 

Shiro seemed to be enjoying himself well enough. He was happily drinking beer and smiling as he watched the crowd before them sing and jump in time to the music. Even if he hadn’t planned the outing initially, Keith was glad they did it. Something about seeing Shiro so relaxed and happy just seemed  _ right _ to Keith.

 

Eventually, Shiro caught him looking. He didn’t say anything but gave Keith a knowing smile before turning back to face the stage.

 

They didn’t talk for the remainder of the set, but Keith was sure Shiro could feel his stare. 

 

When the band finally said goodnight and took their leave, the bar began emptying out. Keith dodged Shiro’s gaze and went to find Coran to settle their tab. Shiro was waiting for him at the door once he finished up, so Keith had no choice but to fall in step with him as they made their way back to the car.

 

“Did you enjoy the show?” Shiro asked, tone innocent enough, but Keith saw the glimmer of something else in his eye. Hope, maybe. 

 

“Yeah,” Keith replied, figuring simple answers were safest while he tried to determine Shiro’s feelings.

 

Shiro hummed in response, but let the conversation fall into a lull. 

 

When they arrived back at the car, Shiro opened the passenger door for Keith and waited as he climbed into the seat. Neither spoke the entire ride back to the farm and by the time they pulled up to the house, Keith wasn’t sure he remembered how to carry a conversation. He tried to throw an awkward “goodnight” at Shiro as he got out, but Shiro reached forward and grabbed his forearm.

 

“Shiro?” Keith shot him a questioning look, but Shiro was staring at where his hand met Keith’s arm. 

 

He let go after a minute, looking at Keith’s arm like it had burned him. “Uhm, goodnight, Keith.”

 

Keith cocked his head in confusion but returned the goodnight as he closed the car door. He stood in the driveway and waved as Shiro drove away.

 

He decided he was too tired to dwell on their strange interaction and that it was a problem for Tomorrow Keith. So instead, he walked up the stairs to the back door and called it a night.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading! Come yell about gay anime boys with me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FoxyLovesFandom) or [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/theinsanefox)

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to my awesome friend [Voxane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/voxane/pseuds/voxane) for helping me to beta this. They're a pretty kickass writer, so please go give their work some love!
> 
> As always, come yell anime, horses, video games, or whatever at me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FoxyLovesFandom) or [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/theinsanefox)


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